Concatenated point-to-multipoint (ptmp) broadcast messages displaying display messages in cellular phones

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to the use of concatenatable Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) broadcast messages for displaying display messages, and in particular long display messages requiring two or more PTMP broadcast messages, on personal cellular telecommunications devices. The present invention is achieved by the provision of a pseudo-header including a display message identifier, a PTMP broadcast message field for specifying the number P≧1 of PTMP broadcast messages to transport an entire display message, and a PTMP broadcast message counter Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) for specifying the location of a PTMP broadcast message in that sequence. A pseudo-header may alternatively enable concatenation of two or more macromessages into a supermacromessage.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The invention is in the field of mobile cellulartelecommunications in general, and the use of concatenatablePoint-To-MultiPoint-(PTMP) broadcast messages for displaying displaymessages on personal cellular telecommunications devices in particular.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002] In Applicant's WO 01/52558 A2 entitled “Method for Operating aCellular Telecommunications Network, and Method for Operating a PersonalCellular Telecommunications Device” and WO 01/52572 A1 entitled “Methodfor Operating a Cellular Telecommunications Network”, the contents ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference, there is illustrated anddescribed a screen saver application for displaying display messages onpersonal cellular telecommunications devices in a screen saver likemanner, namely, their display is temporarily interrupted during, say, avoice call, an Internet session, and the like. The display messages arepreferably so-called “interactive display messages” in the sense that asubscriber can automatically activate a Point-To-Point (PTP)transmission response mechanism from a dedicated response meansintegrally provided in a display message. Interactive display messagesare preferably transmitted over a Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP)transmission capability as opposed to over a PTP transmissioncapability, thereby rendering an interactive cellular broadcastingservice.

[0003] ETSI's GSM 03.41 standard entitled “Technical Realization ofCellular Broadcast Service”, the contents of which are incorporatedherein by reference, standardizes a so-called “macromessage” constitutedby between one and 15 broadcast messages each having a 82 byte payloadfor transporting long display messages of up to a maximum of 1230 bytes.This upper limit of 15 broadcast messages is due to the provisioning ofonly 4 bits for the purpose of specifying the number of pages in amacromessage i.e. 1111. Despite the inclusion of the macromessagefeature since the inception of the GSM 03.41 standard, neither do manyinstalled GSM Cell Broadcast Controllers (CBCs) employed for parsing andisplay message into broadcast messages support the macromessagefeature, nor do many Base Station Controllers (BSCs) for transmittingthe broadcast messages and nor do many GSM personal cellulartelecommunications devices.

[0004] Looking to the future, assuming that all installed CBCs, BSCs anddevices support the macromessage capability, the maximum 1230 bytepayload of a macromessage may be insufficient to transport certainbandwidth heavy display messages, for example, including video content.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Generally speaking, the present invention is directed to the useof concatenatable Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) broadcast messages fordisplaying display messages on personal cellular telecommunicationsdevices in a robust manner entirely independent of the macromessagecapability of a transmitting BSC or the individual macromessagecapability of a receiving personal cellular telecommunications device.Moreover, the present invention is capable of concatenating a fargreater number of PTMP broadcast messages than the maximum concatenationcapability of GSM 03.41's macromessage feature, thereby effectivelyenabling the CB channels dedicated for broadcast messages to be employedfor transporting mobile services, for example, WAP, and the like.

[0006] The present invention is implemented by reserving a portion ofthe payload of an otherwise conventional PTMP broadcast message forconcatenation purposes including concatenation of two or more PTMPbroadcast messages and/or concatenation of two or more macromessagesinto a so-called supermacromessage. The reserved portions of thepayloads of PTMP broadcast messages are therefore effectivelypseudo-headers whose contents do not constitute part of the displaymessage per se. However, whilst the pseudo-headers of PTMP broadcastmessages in accordance with the present invention effectively replacethe functionality of their header counterparts when used, there stillexist network advantages for transmitting PTMP broadcast messages aspart of macromessages where possible.

[0007] A client application for displaying display messages transportedover an air interface in accordance with the present invention ispreferably customizable for execution on either a non-macromessagecompliant device or a macromessage compliant device. The customizationis preferably achieved by way of a customization protocol, for example,as illustrated and described Applicant's co-pending PCT InternationalApplications PCT/IL01/00165 and PCT/IL01/00424, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

[0008] The personal cellular telecommunications devices can include awide range of mobile handheld devices including inter alia simplephones, Smartphones, Communicators, Wireless Information Devices (WIEs),and the like. The client applications can be developed under differentindustry wide and proprietary development environments, and can run ondifferent Operating Systems (O/Ss) including inter alia Microsoft CE,Symbian EPOC, Palm O/S, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] In order to understand the invention and to see how it can becarried out in practice, a preferred embodiment will now be described,by way of a non-limiting example only, with reference to theaccompanying drawings, in which similar parts are likewise numbered, andin which:

[0010]FIG. 1 shows a schematic representation of a GSM mobile cellulartelecommunications network for displaying display messages on personalcellular telecommunications devices;

[0011]FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a preferred embodiment of aGSM-type modified PTMP broadcast message for displaying display messagesin accordance with the present invention;

[0012]FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the parsing of a display messageinto PTMP broadcast messages ready for broadcasting in accordance withthe present invention;

[0013]FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing the parsing of a displaymessage into a sequence of GSM-type individual PTMP broadcast messagesin accordance with a first mode of parsing;

[0014]FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the parsing of a displaymessage into a GSM-type macromessage of PTMP broadcast messages inaccordance with a second mode of parsing;

[0015]FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the parsing of a displaymessage into a supermacromessage of GSM-type macromessages in accordancewith a third mode of parsing;

[0016]FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a client application for displaying adisplay message on a non-macromessage compliant personal cellulartelecommunications device in accordance with the present invention;

[0017]FIG. 8 is a flow diagram of a client application for displaying adisplay message on a macromessage compliant personal cellulartelecommunications device in accordance with the present invention;

[0018]FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an intermediate messageyielded during the operation of the personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice of FIG. 8 for displaying of a display message;

[0019]FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a preferred embodiment of aGSM-type modified PTMP broadcast message of the first PTMP broadcastmessage of a macromessage for concatenating macromessages intosupermacromessages in accordance with the present invention;

[0020]FIG. 11 is a flow diagram showing the parsing of a display messageinto macromessages of a supermacromessage ready for broadcasting inaccordance with the present invention;

[0021]FIG. 12 is a flow diagram of a client application for displaying adisplay message on a macromessage compliant personal cellulartelecommunications device in accordance with the present invention; and

[0022]FIGS. 13A and 13B are schematic diagrams showing alternativeembodiments of a GSM-type modified PTMP broadcast message for displayingdisplay messages in accordance with the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023]FIG. 1 shows a GSM cellular telecommunications network I fordisplaying display messages on personal cellular telecommunicationsdevices (hereinafter referred to as “devices”) 2. The network 1 includesa Cell Broadcast Controller (CBC) 3 for parsing a display message intoPTMP broadcast messages to be broadcasted from one of two classes ofBase Station Controller (BSC) 4, namely, non-macromessage compliant BSCs4A and macromessage compliant BSCs 4B. Each device 2 includes a hostMobile Equipment (ME) 6, and a resident Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)card 7 capable of running SIM Toolkit applications (constituting clientapplications). Each host ME 6 has its own unique vendor allocated 15digit International Mobile Equipment Identification (IMEI) number 8, forexample, 490548400308362. Each SIM 7 has a cellular operator allocated15 digit International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) number 9, forexample, 425010100437187. A device 2 can be either a non-macromessagecompliant device 2A or a macromessage compliant device 2B, and itsmacromessage compliancy can be determined by way of a customizationprotocol employing either its IMEI or its IMSI for example, asillustrated and described in Applicant's co-pending PCT InternationalApplications PCT/IL01/00165 and PCT/IL01/00424, the contents of whichare incorporated herein by reference.

[0024]FIG. 2 shows that a modified GSM-type PTMP broadcast message 11 isbased on a conventional PTMP broadcast message having 88 bytes dividedbetween a 6 byte header 12 and a 82 byte payload 13. The header 12includes a macromessage identifier 14 for identifying a macromessage, amacromessage page field 16 for specifying an integer I of pages in amacromessage where K≧I≧1 and K is a predetermined maximum number of PTMPbroadcast messages in a macromessage (K=15 for a GSM-type macromessage),and a macromessage page counter 17 for specifying a page number J=(1, 2,. . . , I−1, I≦15) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage. Thevalue J is incremented by 1 for each consecutive PTMP broadcast messagein a macromessage. The payload 13 includes a reserved pseudo-header 18,and a payload remainder 19 for storing the actual content of an intendeddisplay message including inter alia display instructions, text,graphics, and the like. The pseudo-header 18 has a display messageidentifier 21 for identifying a display message, a PTMP broadcastmessage field 22 for specifying a value P≧1 of the number of PTMPbroadcast messages required to transport an entire display message, anda PTMP broadcast message counter 23 Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) forspecifying the location of a PTMP broadcast message in a sequence of PPTMP broadcast messages. The value Q is incremented by 1 for eachconsecutive PTMP broadcast message in a sequence of P PTMP broadcastmessages. The pseudo-header 18 also includes a supermacromessage field24 for specifying the number of macromessages L≧1 required to transportan entire display message, and a supermacromessage counter 26 M=(1, 2, .. . , L−1, L) for specifying the location of a macromessage in asupermacromessage. The value M is incremented by 1 for each consecutivemacromessage in a supermacromessage.

[0025] The operation of the GSM mobile cellular telecommunicationsnetwork 1 is now described with reference to FIGS. 3-9 in respect ofboth non-macromessage compliant devices 2A and macromessage compliantdevices 2B, and both non-macromessage compliant BSCs 4A and macromessagecompliant BSCs 4B.

[0026] In the case of either a BSC 4A or a BSC 4B, the CBC 3 initiallydetermines the number P≧1 of PTMP broadcast messages required totransport an entire display message 27. In the case of a BSC 4A, the CBC3 parses the display message 27 into P PTMP broadcast messages 28including assigning values to its/their display message identifier(s)21, PTMP broadcast message field(s) 22 and PTMP broadcast messagecounter(s) 23 prior to transmission at the BSC 4A for display ofits/their originating display message 27 on a device 2A or 2B (see solidline in FIG. 3, and FIG. 4): The CBC 3 assigns the same identificationnumber 123456 to its/their display message identifier(s) 21. The CBC 3assigns the same value P to its/their PTMP broadcast message field(s)22. The CBC 3 assigns a value Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) to its/their PTMPbroadcast message counter(s) 23 where the value Q is incremented by 1for each consecutive PTMP broadcast message 28 of the P PTMP broadcastmessage(s) 28. Also, the CBC 3 can assign default values, say, L=M=0, toits/their supermacromessage field(s) 24 and its/their supermacromessagecounter(s) 26.

[0027] In the case of a BSC 4B and P≦15, the CBC 3 and the BSC 4B parsethe display message 27 into P≦15 PTMP broadcast messages 28 includingassigning values to its/their macromessage identifier(s) 14,macromessage page field(s) 16, macromessage page counter(s) 17, displaymessage identifier(s) 21, PTMP broadcast message field(s) 22 and PTMPbroadcast message counter(s) 23 prior to the P≦15 PTMP broadcastmessage(s) 28 being ready for transmitting at the BSC 4B for displayingits/their originating display message 29 on a device 2A or 2B (seehashed line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5): The CBC 3 allocates theidentification number 171717 for assigning to its/their macromessageidentifier(s) 14 by the BSC 4B. The BSC 4B assigns the same value I toits/their macromessage page field(s) 16, and a value J to its/theirmacromessage page counter(s) 17. Typically, the I and Q values ofits/their macromessage page field(s) 13 and macromessage pagecounters(s) 17 are the same as the P and Q values of their counterpartPTMP broadcast field(s) 22 and PTMP broadcast counter(s) 23,respectively. The CBC 3 assigns the same identification number 232323 toits/their display message identifier(s) 21. The CBC 3 assigns the samevalue P to its/their PTMP broadcast message field(s) 22. The CBC 3assigns a value Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P≦15) to its/their PTMP broadcastmessage counter(s) 23 where Q is incremented by 1 for each consecutiveP≦15 PTMP broadcast message 28 of the P≦15 PTMP broadcast message(s) 28.The CBC 3 can also assign default values, say, L=M=0, to its/theirsupermacromessage field(s) 24 and its/their supermacromessage counter(s)26.

[0028] In the case of a BSC 4B and P>15, a decision has to be madewhether to still utilize the BSC's macromessage capability or not. Inthe event that its macromessage capability is not to be utilized, thenthe display message is parsed into P>15 PTMP broadcast messages in thesame manner as in the case of a BSC 4A prior to transmission at the BSC4B for displaying their originating display message 27 on a device 2A or2B.

[0029] In the event that its macromessage capability is still to beutilized, the CBC 3 determines the length of a supermacromessage interms of the number L>1 of macromessages required to transport theentire display message 27. The CBC 3 and the BSC 4B parse the displaymessage 27 into the P>15 PTMP broadcast messages including assigningvalues to their macromessage identifiers 14, macromessage page fields16, macromessage page counters 17, display message identifiers 21, PTMPbroadcast message fields 22, PTMP broadcast message counters 23,supermacromessage fields 24, and supermacromessage counters 26 prior totransmission at the BSC 4B for displaying their originating displaymessage 27 on a device 2A or 2B (see hashed line in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6):The CBC 3 allocates the identification numbers for the differentmacromessages for assigning to their macromessage identifiers 14 by theBSC 4B. For example, assuming that P=25, the display message 27 istransportable by a supermacromessage consisting of two macromessages,the first macromessage being complete with 15 PTMP broadcast messages28(1), . . . , 28(15), and the second macromessage having 10 PTMPbroadcast messages 28(16), . . . , 28(25). In the shown example, the CBC3 allocates the value 454545 to the macromessage identifiers 14 of the1^(st) macromessage, and the value 474747 to the macromessageidentifiers 14 of the 2^(nd) macromessage.

[0030] The BSC 4B assigns the value I=15 to the macromessage page field16 of each PTMP broadcast message of a complete macromessage, and thevalue I=P−[15×(L−1)] to the macromessage page field 16 of the lasttypically incomplete macromessage. The BSC 4B assigns a value J=(1, 2, .. . , 15) to the macromessage page counters 17 of each PTMP broadcastmessage of a complete macromessage where the value J is incremented by 1for each consecutive PTMP broadcast message of a macromessage, and thevalue J=(1, 2, . . . , P−[15×(L−1)]) to the macromessage page counters17 of the PTMP broadcast messages of the last typically incompletemacromessage. In the above example, the BSC 4B assigns the value I=15 tothe macromessage page fields 16 of all 15 PTMP broadcast messages 28 ofthe 1^(st) macromessage, and a J=(1, 2, . . . , 15) to theirmacromessage page counters 17. Also, the BSC 4B assigns the value I=10to the macromessage page fields 21 of all 10 PTMP broadcast messages 28of the 2^(nd) macromessage, and a Q=(1, 2, . . . , 10) to theirmacromessage page counters 17.

[0031] The CBC 3 assigns the same identification number 123123 to thedisplay message identifiers 21 of all 25 PTMP broadcast messages. TheCBC 3 assigns the same value P to the PTMP broadcast message fields 21of all 25 PTMP broadcast messages, and values Q=(1, 2, P−1, P) to theirPTMP broadcast message counters 23 where the value Q is incremented by 1for each consecutive PTMP broadcast message. The CBC 3 also assigns thesame value L to the supermacromessage fields 24 of all 25 PTMP broadcastmessages, and a value M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) to theirsupermacromessage counters 26 where M is incremented by 1 for eachconsecutive macromessage in a supermacromessage.

[0032] In the above example, the CBC 3 assigns the value P=25 to thePTMP broadcast messages fields 22, the values Q=(1, 2, 21, 25) to theirPTMP broadcast message counters 23, the value L=2 to thesupermacromessage fields 24 of all 25 PTMP broadcast messages 28, thevalue M=1 to the supermacromessage counters 26 of the 15 PTMP broadcastmessages of the 1^(st) macromessage, and the value M=2 to thesupermacromessage counters 26 of each of the 10 PTMP broadcast messagesof the 2^(nd) macromessage.

[0033] A non-macromessage compliant device 2A is, by definition, unableto interpret macromessage information contained in the header of a PTMPbroadcast message and therefore as a consequence handles PTMP broadcastmessages 11 originating from either a BSC 4A or a BSC 4B in the samemanner, namely, it processes the information stored in theirpseudo-headers 18. In contrast, a macromessage compliant device 2Bhandles incoming PTMP broadcast messages originating from a BSC 4A and aBSC 4B differently.

[0034] Turning to FIG. 7, a device 2A receives incoming PTMP broadcastmessages 11 which are individually automatically downloaded in theirentirety to its SIM 7. The client application determines from its PTMPbroadcast message field 22 whether a PTMP broadcast message is part of asingle PTMP broadcast message (P−1) display message or a multi-PTMPbroadcast message (P>1) display message. In the former case, the clientapplication strips off its header 12 and its pseudo-header 18, andprocesses its payload remainder 19 for yielding the contents of thedisplay message for display on the device 2A. In the latter case, theclient application sorts the P PTMP broadcast messages of a displaymessage into sequence by their PTMP broadcast message counters 23 andthen processes their payload remainders 19 for yielding the contents ofthe display message for display on the device 2A. After a predeterminedtimeout, the client application discards any incomplete displaymessages.

[0035] Turning to FIG. 8, in the case of a device 2B receiving incomingPTMP broadcast messages, its ME 6 automatically attempts to process themby macromessage information potentially contained in their headers,namely, to order the PTMP broadcast messages of each macromessage insequence. In the case of PTMP broadcast messages transmitted by a BSC4A, since their headers are devoid of macromessage information, the ME 6cannot process them and therefore they are individually downloaded tothe SIM 7 as single PTMP broadcast message intermediate messages. Eachsuch intermediate message is in actual fact identical to its originatingPTMP broadcast message in the sense that it has an identical header andan identical payload.

[0036] In the case of PTMP broadcast messages transmitted by a BSC 4Band therefore containing macromessage information, the ME 6 is able toprocess them to generate intermediate messages derived from one or morePTMP broadcast messages and up to 15 PTMP broadcast messages fordownloading to the SIM 7. In the event that an intermediate message isderived from a single PTMP broadcast message (P=1) display message, itssubsequent intermediate message is also identical to its originatingPTMP broadcast message in the sense that it has an identical header andan identical payload. In the event that an intermediate message isderived from a multi-PTMP broadcast message display message, each suchintermediate message has a header identical to the header of its firstPTMP broadcast message, and a payload including the pseudo-header of itsfirst PTMP broadcast message and its payload remainder, and the entirepayloads of its remaining P−1 PTMP broadcast messages including theirpseudo-headers spaced therealong at regular intervals. FIG. 9 shows theintermediate message 29 which would be yielded on receipt of the P≦15PTMP broadcast messages 28 derived from the display message 27 describedhereinabove with reference to FIG. 5. After a predetermined timeout, theME 6 discards any incomplete macromessages.

[0037] The client application determines whether an intermediate messageis derived from a single PTMP broadcast message (Y=1) display message ora multi-PTMP broadcast message (Y>1) display message. In the formercase, such an intermediate message can be classified into one of threecategories: Class 1 in the event it derives from a single PTMP broadcastmessage (P=1) display message transmitted by either a BSC 4A or a BSC4B. Class 2 in the event it derives from a multi-PTMP broadcast message(P>1) display message transmitted by a BSC 4A. And Class 3 in the eventit derives from a single PTMP broadcast message of a last incompletemacromessage of a two or more macromessage (L>1) supermacromessage, forexample, the 16^(th) or the 31^(st) PTMP broadcast message of amulti-PTMP broadcast message display message, transmitted by a BSC 4B.

[0038] In the case that an intermediate message is derived from a singlePTMP broadcast message (P=1) display message as determined from its PTMPbroadcast message field 22, the client application strips off its header12 and its pseudo-header 18, and processes its payload remainder 19 foryielding the contents of the display message for display on the device2B. In the event that such an intermediate message is not derived from asingle PTMP broadcast message (P=1) display message, it is necessary todetermine from its supermacromessage field 24 whether it falls intoeither Class 2 or 3. In the case that such an intermediate message fallsinto Class 2, it is processed in the same manner as described above withreference to a non-macromessage compliant device 2A, namely, the clientapplication sorts the P PTMP broadcast messages of a multi-PTMPbroadcast message (P>1) display message into sequence by their PTMPbroadcast message counters 23 and then processes their payloadremainders 19 for yielding the contents of the display message fordisplay on the device 2B.

[0039] In the case that an intermediate message is derived from two ormore PTMP broadcast messages indicative of their transmission by a BSC4B, the client application determines from either the PTMP broadcastmessage field 22 or the supermacromessage field 24 of the first PTMPbroadcast message whether it is derived from a single macromessage(P≦15) display message or a multi-macromessage (P>15) display message.In the former case, the client application strips off the header 12 andthe pseudo-headers 18 of the PTMP broadcast messages before processingthe payload remainders 19 of all the PTMP broadcast messages of theintermediate message for yielding the content of the display message fordisplay on the device 2B. In the latter case, the client applicationtreats the intermediate message in the same manner as described for theformer case that a PTMP broadcast message is derived from a singlemacromessage (P≦15) display message but it concatenates the two or moremacromessages of a supermacromessage including a single PTMP broadcastmessage (Y=1) macromessage derived from a Class 3 intermediate messageas identified by their display message identifiers 21 in sequence priorto displaying the display message on the device 2B.

[0040] In the case of a display message being transmitted by amacromessage compliant BSC 4B for display on a device 2B, theconcatenation of the PTMP broadcast messages of a macromessage istransparent to the device 2B, and therefore support of asupermacromessage capability is in practice equivalent to support of theconcatenation of PTMP broadcast messages on a non-macromessage compliantdevice 2A. To this end, each macromessage requires that only its firstPTMP broadcast message 31 (see FIG. 10) has the pseudo-header 18 withthe display message identifier 21, the supermacromessage field 24 andthe supermacromessage counter 26 whilst its other up to 14 PTMPbroadcast messages may have full 82 byte payloads.

[0041] The operation of a GSM mobile telecommunications network 1 havingonly macromessage compliant devices 2B and macromessage compliant BSCs4B is now described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. A CBC 3 initiallydetermines the number L≧1 of macromessages required to transport anentire display message 27, and thereafter, the CBC 3 and a BSC 4B parsethe display message 27 in the same manner as described hereinabove inconnection with FIG. 6 without the assigning of values to the displaymessage identifiers 21, the PTMP broadcast message fields 22 and thePTMP broadcast message counters of the 2^(nd) and up to 15^(th) PTMPbroadcast message of each macromessage which are absent. On receivingincoming PTMP broadcast messages, the ME 6 of a device 2B automaticallyprocesses them by the macromessage information contained in theirheaders 12 to sort the PTMP broadcast messages of each macromessage.

[0042] The ME 6 downloads intermediate messages which are derived fromeither a single macromessage (L=1) supermacromessage or amulti-macromessage (L>1) supermacromessage. Each intermediate messagemay contain from a single PTMP broadcast message up to 15 PTMP broadcastmessages, and includes the header of the 1^(st) PTMP broadcast message,and its payload including its pseudo-header 18 and its payload remainder19, and the full payloads of any additional PTMP broadcast messages. Inthe case that an intermediate message is derived from a singlemacromessage supermacromessage, the client application strips off theheader 12 and the pseudo-header 18 of its first PTMP broadcast messagefor yielding the content of the display message for display on thedevice 2B. In the case that an intermediate message is derived from amulti-macromessage supermacromessage, the client applicationconcatenates the two or more macromessages as identified by theirdisplay message identifiers 21 in sequence prior to displaying thedisplay message on the device 2B.

[0043] While the invention has been described with respect to a limitednumber of embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications, and other applications of the invention can be madewithin the scope of the appended claims. For example, alternative meansinstead can be provided for enabling a personal cellulartelecommunications device to determine the receipt of a complete displaymessage or a complete supermacromessage. Thus, rather than providingeach PTMP broadcast message with a PTMP broadcast message field 22, anend of display message symbol (constituting a complete display messageindication means) can be employed in which case each PTMP broadcastmessage 32 for transporting a display message except the last would havethe PTMP broadcast message counter 23 (see FIG. 13A) whilst the lastPTMP broadcast message 33 for transporting a display message would havethe PTMP broadcast message counter 23 and an end of display messagesymbol 34 (see FIG. 13B). The same approach may also be applied tosupermacromessage information.

1. For use in a mobile cellular telecommunications network fordisplaying a display message on a personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice, the display message being transportable over an air interface byP

1 Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP) broadcast messages each comprising a) aheader including i) a macromessage identifier for identifying amacromessage; ii) a macromessage page field for specifying a totalnumber of pages I in a macromessage where K

I

1 and K is a predetermined maximum number of PTMP broadcast messages ina macromessage; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying apage number J=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a PTMP broadcast messagecounter Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) for specifying the location of a PTMPbroadcast message in a sequence of P PTMP broadcast messages.
 2. Themessage according to claim 1 wherein the pseudo-header further includesa complete display message indication means for enabling a personalcellular telecommunications device to determine the receipt of acomplete display message.
 3. The message according to claim 2 whereinthe complete display message indication means is constituted by a PTMPbroadcast message field for storing the value P.
 4. The messageaccording to claim 2 wherein the complete display message indicationmeans is constituted by an end of display message symbol.
 5. The messageaccording to claim 1 wherein the pseudo-header further comprises asupermacromessage counter M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) for specifying thelocation of a macromessage in a supermacromessage constituted by asequence of L

1 macromessages.
 6. The message according to claim 5 wherein thepseudo-header includes a complete supermacromessage indication means forenabling a personal cellular telecommunications device to determine thereceipt of a complete supermacromessage.
 7. The message according toclaim 6 wherein the complete supermacromessage indication means isconstituted by a supermacromessage field for storing the value L.
 8. Themessage according to claim 6 wherein the complete supermacromessageindication means is constituted by an end of supermacromessage symbol.9. A method for broadcasting a display message for display on a personalcellular telecommunications device, the display message beingtransported over an air interface by one or more PTMP broadcast messageseach comprising a) a header including i) a macromessage identifier foridentifying a macromessage; ii) a macromessage page field for specifyinga total number of pages I in a macromessage where K

I

1 and K is a predetermined maximum number of PTMP broadcast messages ina macromessage; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying apage number J=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a PTMP broadcast messagecounter Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) for specifying the location of a PTMPbroadcast message in a sequence of P PTMP broadcast messages, the one ormore PTMP broadcast messages including at least one PTMP broadcastmessage having a complete display message indication means for enablinga personal cellular telecommunications device to determine the receiptof a complete display message, the method comprising the steps of: (a)determining the number P

1 of PTMP broadcast messages for transporting the entire displaymessage; (b) parsing the display message into the P PTMP broadcastmessages including assigning the same identification number to its/theirdisplay message identifier(s); (c) assigning values Q=(1, 2, . . . ,P−1, P) to its/their PTMP broadcast message counter(s) where Q isincremented for each PTMP broadcast message in the sequence of P PTMPbroadcast messages; (d) completing the complete display messageindication means of the at least one PTMP broadcast message(s) forenabling a personal cellular telecommunications device to determine thereceipt of a complete display message; and (e) transmitting the P PTMPbroadcast messages for display of its/their originating display messageon a personal cellular telecommunications device.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 9 and further comprising the step of assigning thesame identification number to its/their macromessage identifier(s) ofeach macromessage, assigning values I

K to it/their macromessage page field(s), and values J=(1, 2, . . . ,I−1, I

K) to its/their macromessage page counter(s).
 11. The method accordingto claim 9 and wherein the PTMP broadcast messages each have apseudo-header further including a supermacromessage counter M=(1, 2, . .. , L−1, L) for specifying the location of a macromessage in asupermacromessage constituted by a sequence of L

1 macromessages, the PTMP broadcast messages including at least one PTMPbroadcast message having a pseudo-header further including asupermacromessage counter M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) for specifying thelocation of a macromessage in a supermacromessage constituted by asequence of L

1 macromessages with a complete supermacromessage indication means forenabling a personal cellular telecommunications device to determine thereceipt of a complete supermacromessage, and further comprising thesteps of: (f) determining the number L of macromessages for transportingthe entire display message; (g) assigning values M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1,L) to the supermacromessage counter(s) of its/their P PTMP broadcastmessage(s) where M is incremented for each macromessage in thesupermacromessage; and (h) completing the complete supermacromessageindication means of the at least one PTMP broadcast message(s) includinga pseudo-header with the complete supermacromessage indication means forenabling a personal cellular telecommunications device to determine thereceipt of a complete supermacromessage.
 12. A mobile cellulartelecommunications network for executing the method in accordance withclaim
 9. 13. A method for displaying a display message on a personalcellular telecommunications device, the method comprising the steps of:(a) receiving incoming PTMP broadcast messages each comprising a) aheader including i) a macromessage identifier for identifying amacromessage; ii) a macromessage page field for specifying a totalnumber of pages I in a macromessage where K

I

1 and K is a predetermined maximum number of PTMP broadcast messages ina macromessage; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying apage number J=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a PTMP broadcast messagecounter Q=(1, 2, . . . , P−1, P) for specifying the location of a PTMPbroadcast message in a sequence of P PTMP broadcast messages; and (b)displaying a display message whose contents are derived solely from thepayload remainder(s) of its P

1 PTMP broadcast message(s) on the personal cellular telecommunicationsdevice.
 14. The method according to claim 13 and further comprising thestep of determining whether an incoming PTMP broadcast message is partof a single PTMP broadcast message (P=1) display message.
 15. The methodaccording to claim 13 and further comprising step (c) of sorting thePTMP broadcast messages of a multi-PTMP broadcast message (P>1) displaymessage into sequence for display of the display message on the personalcellular telecommunications device.
 16. The method according to claim 15wherein step (c) includes processing at least the PTMP broadcast messagecounter of the PTMP broadcast messages of a multi-PTMP broadcast message(P>1) display message.
 17. The method according to claim 13 and furthercomprising step (d) of sorting the macromessages of a multi-macromessagesupermacromessage into sequence for display of the display message onthe personal cellular telecommunications device.
 18. The methodaccording to claim 17 wherein step (d) includes processing at least thesupermacromessage counter of the PTMP broadcast messages of a multi-PTMPbroadcast message (P>1) display message.
 19. The method according toclaim 13 and further comprising step (e) of determining whether thepersonal cellular telecommunications device is macromessage compliant.20. A client application for executing the method according to claim 13.21. A smart card for executing the method according to claim
 13. 22. Apersonal cellular telecommunications device for executing the methodaccording to claim
 13. 23. For use in a mobile cellulartelecommunications network for displaying a display message on amacromessage compliant personal cellular telecommunications device, thedisplay message being transportable over an air interface by one or moremacromessages each containing up to K Point-To-MultiPoint (PTMP)broadcast messages where K is a predetermined maximum number of PTMPbroadcast messages in a macromessage, a macromessage having at least onePTMP broadcast message comprising a) a header including i) amacromessage identifier for identifying a macromessage; ii) amacromessage page field for specifying a total number of pages I in amacromessage where K

I

1; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying a page numberJ=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a supermacromessage counterfor specifying a macromessage number M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) in asequence of L

1 macromessages constituting a supermacromessage.
 24. The messageaccording to claim 23 wherein the pseudo-header further includes acomplete supermacromessage indication means for enabling a personalcellular telecommunications device to determine the receipt of acomplete supermacromessage.
 25. The message according to claim 24wherein the complete supermacromessage indication means is constitutedby a supermacromessage field for storing the value L.
 26. The messageaccording to claim 24 wherein the complete supermacromessage indicationmeans is constituted by an end of supermacromessage symbol.
 27. A methodfor broadcasting a display message for display on a personal cellulartelecommunications device, the display message being transported over anair interface by one or more macromessages each comprising at least onePTMP broadcast message each comprising a) a header including i) amacromessage identifier for identifying a macromessage; ii) amacromessage page field for specifying a total number of pages I in amacromessage where K

I

1; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying a page numberJ=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a supermacromessage counterfor specifying a macromessage number M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) in asequence of L

1 macromessages constituting a supermacromessage, the one or moremacromessages including at least one macromessage comprising at leastone PTMP broadcast message having a pseudo-header with a completesupermacromessage indication means for enabling a personal cellulartelecommunications device to determine the receipt of a completesupermacromessage, the method comprising the steps of: (a) determiningthe number L

1 of macromessages for transporting the entire display message; (b)parsing the display message into the L macromessage(s) includingassigning the same identification number to the display messageidentifier(s) of its/their PTMP broadcast message(s); (c) assigningvalues M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) to the supermacromessage counter(s) ofits/their PTMP broadcast messages where M is incremented for eachmacromessage in the sequence of L macromessage(s); (d) assigning thesame identification number to the macromessage identifier(s) ofits/their PTMP broadcast message(s); (e) assigning values I

K to the macromessage page field(s) of its/their PTMP broadcastmessage(s); (f) assigning values J=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) to the macromessage page counter(s) of its/their PTMP broadcastmessage(s); (g) completing the complete supermacromessage indicationmeans of the at least one PTMP broadcast message(s) having apseudo-header including a complete supermacromessage indication meansfor enabling a personal cellular telecommunications device to determinethe receipt of a complete supermacromessage; and (h) transmitting thePTMP broadcast message(s) of the L

1 macromessage(s) for display of its/their originating display messageon a personal cellular telecommunications device.
 28. A mobile cellulartelecommunications network for executing the method in accordance withclaim
 27. 29. A method for displaying a display message on a personalcellular telecommunications device, the method comprising the steps of:(a) receiving incoming PTMP broadcast messages each comprising a) aheader including i) a macromessage identifier for identifying amacromessage; ii) a macromessage page field for specifying a totalnumber of pages I in a macromessage where K

I

1; and iii) a macromessage page counter for specifying a page numberJ=(1, 2, . . . , I−1, I

K) of a PTMP broadcast message in a macromessage, and b) a payloadincluding a reserved pseudo-header and a payload remainder for storingactual content, the pseudo-header having i) a display message identifierfor identifying a display message; and ii) a supermacromessage counterfor specifying a macromessage number M=(1, 2, . . . , L−1, L) in asequence of L

1 macromessages constituting a supermacromessage; and (b) displaying adisplay message whose contents are derived solely from the payloadremainders of the PTMP broadcast messages of its L

1 macromessages on the personal cellular telecommunications device. 30.The method according to claim 29 and further comprising step (c) ofsorting the macromessages of a multi-macromessage supermacromessage intosequence for display of the display message on the personal cellulartelecommunications device.
 31. The method according to claim 30 whereinstep (c) includes processing at least the supermacromessage counter of amacromessage of a multi-macromessage (L>1) supermacromessage displaymessage.
 32. A client application for executing the method according toclaim
 29. 33. A smart card for executing the method according to claim29.
 34. A personal cellular telecommunications device for executing themethod according to claim 29.